Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Richelle Mead offered a treat to all her Vampire Academy fans by doing a spin-off series based on Jill Dragomir, Lissa's last existing family member.

I had my doubts at first, mostly because Vampire Academy is one of my favorite series. Rose's voice, strong and filled with confidence was being replaced with Sydney's, whom I remembered as stuck up and analytical. So when Bloodlines began with Sydney emotionally distancing herself from the Moroi, I thought, "Oh no, she's going to be criticizing their every move."

But no.

Sydney was a great character, maybe just as strong as Rose when push came to shove. And Adrian was suave as always, leaving little space for disappointment.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Most Frustrating Characters Ever

Aaargh! Some characters make you want to slam the book on the ground and walk away from it -- something a lot harder to do these days with kindles and kobos. But the frustration remains. So what do we do?

We vent.

Here is my top five most frustrating characters ever:

1. Luce (Torment): Finding the love of her life isn't enough for Luce. She kisses Cam, which is understandable. But Miles too? I mean, how many guys does she need to feel complete? Let's just hope she doesn't meet Chris Brown in Rapture.

2.Mia (Where She Went): Poor Mia lost her whole family. But the way she takes it out on her ex is unfair. As if she needs to blame something or someone for what happened, and he is the perfect victim.

3.Elena (The Vampire Diaries): The book is far different from the television series. I mean, c'mon, girls don't make blood oaths to help a friend get a guy. Nor do you tell someone you love him after a few days and take his uncertainty as ''it must be some other girl from his past."

4.Amy (Little Women): Never have I seen a worst sister.

5.Maggie, Clara's Mom (Unearthly): Imagine being from another species and your mom refusing to give you any information. Just bits and pieces here and there. No wonder Clara is always so confused.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Ok, it might have been foolish of me to imagine that these Raven Boys (Gansey, Adam, Ronan, Noah) were actually shape-shifters.

Glendower

They are teensagers, obsessed with the idea of finding Glendower's body. You see, there is a myth: whoever finds Glendower gets a wish. And so these four boys team up with Blue, a witcht's daugther and together they go on a mission that went well beyond my expectations.

Maggie Stiefvater outdones herself once more. She has given us: werewolves, water horses, fairies... and now she gives us witchtcraft and spirits. Her characters are down to earth, and most important believable. She even tackles the heavy subject of Child Abuse.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Sever, the conclusion of The Chemical Garden series, features more character growth than the first two books combined.

In Wither, Rhine was too quiet. Overly nice with everyone, she was even capable of turning Linden (her husband whom she never had any relations with) into her puppy dog and all because she looked like Rose. But who exactly is Rose? Was she also stolen and forced into marriage? That question will finally be answered.

What interested me the most about reading this book, was the cover. If you look closely, you'll notice that Rhine is holding her wedding band. And as the title says: she will SEVER. But you'll never guess how.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Caught my Arrow is a meme originally known as IMM and hosted by The Story Sirenfeaturing books that were purchased, borrowed or received that week.

Whoa, this week passed so fast, I barely noticed. Since January is coming to an end, and I want to make sure I complete my first challenge this year I only borrowed one book from the library this week.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Don't worry it's not a Wheezer, it's me, grunting because I don't think can handle another cliffhanger ending. The thing I like the most about Gordon Smith's writing is that he doesn't breathe. It's action scene, after action scene and this bookwas no different.

After getting caught escaping, Alex is now locked in solitary confinement. Or if you prefer, a hole in the ground that is sometimes visited by Rats. Zee is with him, genuine and dear as always. And together they find a way to communicate.

But as their plan to escape solidifies, Alex must choose: save himself and leave his friends, or risk staying locked up forever.

Prepare yourself to meet Simon (friend or foe??) and for the grand return of Donovan.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Curling up With a Good Book nominated me for The Liebster Blog Award. It is presented by bloggers to bloggers and is a great way to recognize our efforts and get to know each other better. Thank you so much for this opportunity :)

What is the Liebster Blog Award?

You may opt not to do the same but if you happen to pay it forward , good for you! Making blogger friends is fun!

The real "gist" of the Liebster Award is that there is no real award. There are no judges, no special rules. No website with an official team to congratulate you and hold your hand. It's mostly what you want it to be. If you receive the award, you can 1) accept it and 2) pass it along. It's that easy.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Thought I admit the beginning confused me -- having read the first book a while ago and unable to remember all of the secondary characters -- a little reminder would have been preferable.

Tris is devastated by the loss of her parents, pulling a Bella Swan by becoming reckless and pointlessly endangering her life. And Four's!! The couple's love life is on a roller coaster -- passionate one moment, fighting the next...

But don't worry, they'll be too many things going on to keep these two away on separate paths. For those who might find the start a bit slow, I recommend you hang in there. It gets better.

On another note: Actress Shailene Woodley has been chosen to play Tris on the upcoming Divergent movie. What are your thoughts -- does she look the part?

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

As someone who has awakened after being unconscious, I can tell you that it isn't as easy as it looks. You are disoriented. Delirious for a couple of hours. So for Alex to wake up able to think, remembering part of the maze, wanting to become a runner -- he has to be special.

Dashner did many things to keep the book alive. He created a street maze vocabulary, and an enigmatic plot that gripped the reader with suspense. But mostly it's his message of hope that got to me. The boys living in the maze are survivalists. They grow their own crops, cook, enforce just laws -- if people were more like them we wouldn't have crime.

It seems the book might even become a movie. According to IMDB director Wes Ball signed up with the Gotham Group in August 2012.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Seriously, I wasn't expecting the story to throw me into the action so fast. After only a few pages the characters were time traveling and not all out of choice. Jane, the protagonist, was forced to go from single, to married, to a mother, to a cop; while the evil Dr. Zelov scorned from his unrequited love for her, kept getting better at his task.

The experiments were well explained. I could tell, the author placed a lot of thought into them. Don't worry though, narration was cut short allowing dialogue to take over.

Since I found myself "kindred" with Jane it shocked me somewhat to have many other characters introduced throughout the story, but the action kept me turning the pages.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Finale is presented as a large masterpiece, from which Nora is catapulted to be the main player in a war against Nephilim and fallen Angels.

Is she ready? No. Is she willing? Not by a long shot.

I felt quite disconnected from Nora and Patch in this book. Cheshvan was not what we were led to believe and several loose ends dealing with Marcie and Vee were blown out of proportion. I gave a four-star rating because part of me believes that Fitzpatrick could have taken this book and made two parts. Which would have been quite expensive for some of us. So, I'm thankful that she finished the saga and that I could quickly put this book back to my shelf.